Pur Cosmetics Soiree Diaries Eyeshadow Palette Review + Swatches

Hello, everyone!  How has your week been so far?

I received the Pur Cosmetics Soiree Diaries palette in my Boxycharm this month and I wanted to write a separate blog post on it.  My palette did unfortunately get damaged during shipping - the mirror is shattered.  Thankfully, the actual shadows weren't damaged at all, so I can still use my palette.  Honestly, I could depot these shadows and put them in a new Z Palette, but then I wouldn't have the shade names and I find that rather annoying.  I've applied clear tape over the mirror so pieces of glass don't fall out into the shadows.  Sooo, probably not the best packaging for traveling with!  It's just flimsy cardboard after all, so it's not incredibly sturdy.  The marble design and gold writing is pretty chic though.

Anyway!  There are 12 shadows in this palette and they are smooth and highly pigmented.  *With the exception of the shimmer shade, Twinkle, which is quite chunky in texture but still very pigmented and beautiful.*  Eight of the shades are mattes and four shades are shimmers.  All of the shades are neutral and would look good on most (if not all) skin tones.

 I really do like this palette.  I think it's great for everyday, neutral looks, but you can also create something dramatic and glam with this too if you want.

What are your thoughts on this palette?  Is it something you would use?

I hope this was helpful.  Thank you for stopping by, and I hope you have a fantastic weekend!

 

Boxycharm Unboxing - September 2017

Hello, everyone!  How was your weekend?

My Boxycharm came in on Friday and I wanted to share with you everything that I got.  If you don't know what Boxycharm is, it's a monthly beauty subscription service that includes 4-5 full size beauty products for a reasonable $21.00 a month.  We actually received 6 products this month, which is pretty cool.  This month's theme is "Boxy Baddie" and the total value of my box comes to $141.00!  We were also given a coupon code for 25% off of your entire purchase at purcosmetics.com  The code is BOXYSEPT if you want to use it.  It's valid until 10/15/17.  ;)

 

Pur Cosmetics "Soiree Diaries" Eyeshadow Palette - $34.00
Unfortunately, the mirror in my palette was shattered during shipping, but somehow the shadows remained intact.  I've been subscribed to Boxycharm for over a year now and this is the first time I've received anything broken.  I just put some clear tape over the glass for now.  I may depot these shadows and put them in a Z Palette eventually.  The shadows are actually very nice.  They're pigmented and smooth (with the exception of Twinkle - that one is a bit chunky).  It is a fantastic neutral palette.  I'll have a separate review + swatches post on this palette up on Thursday.

Briogeo "Don't Despair Repair" Deep Conditioning Hair Mask - $20.00
I haven't tried anything from this brand yet (even though I already own another product from them), but I've heard great reviews of this brand.  I don't get too excited about hair products the way I do about makeup, but I'm always up to try out a new hair mask.

MAC Eyebrow Pencil in "Lingering" - $18.00
I was ecstatic when I learned that we would be receiving an item from MAC in this box!  I don't think I've ever seen MAC products in any other beauty subscription before.  However, we did just receive a different eyebrow pencil in July's box as well, so it's not like I need another brow product.  I'm not sure if this shade will match my brows but I'll give it a go once I run out of my ABH Brow Wiz.

ColourPop Ultra Satin Lip in "Strip" - $6.00
We also just received a ColourPop Ultra Satin liquid lipstick in the box from July as well.  Thankfully, I really like this formula because it isn't drying and it feels comfortable to wear.  I'm not a huge fan of this shade though.  I'm not into super nude or brown shades.  I just don't think these types of shades look good on me.

Studio Makeup "Loose Blush" - $35.00
I don't think I've ever used a loose powder blush before.  This one looks like it will be a nice shade though.  It's pretty sheer with the first application, but the pigmentation is buildable.  There's a lot of product in this jar as well which is nice if you have to build up the color quite a bit.

Bare Minerals "Face Perfecting" Brush - $28.00
I remember watching a bunch of YouTubers review this brush when it was first released and I really wanted to try it out myself.  I never did get around to picking it up, and I was so happy to see it in my box this month!  *Update* I've used this once with the Smashbox Camera Ready BB Cream and it left a ton of brush marks on my face.  I'll try it out using different foundations and update this post later.

That's everything I received in this month's box!  Overall, my box wasn't too bad.  I was pretty bummed out about the broken palette, but I'm really glad the shadows are fine!  The CP liquid lipstick isn't my color, but only one disappointing product out of six isn't awful.  Especially since it's the cheapest product.  Haha!

Are you subscribed to Boxycharm?  If so, are you happy with what you got in your box?

Thank you for stopping by, and I hope you have a great week!

Influenster Becca Velvet Prime Voxbox Product Review

Hello, everyone!  How was your weekend?

I was recently sent the Becca Velvet Blurring Primer Perfecting Base in Apricot Haze for review.  In addition to a review, I also wanted to show you how this product looks alone on my skin and under foundation (those pictures are at the end of this post).

The bottle is soft touch packaging (similar to Nars packaging) with a pump.  The retail price is $38.00 for 1 oz. of product.  This primer is quite watery, but it somehow feels drying on my skin?!  It feels a bit chalky while I'm applying it to my face and it clings to any dry patches.  This would probably be great for people with oily skin.

Here's a swatch of what the primer looks like before it's blended out.  It has a light orange tint to it that fades away with blending.

These next three photos are of my bare face, my face with only the primer, and my face with makeup.

With the before and after photos, you can see that this primer did even out my skin tone a bit.  However, a full coverage foundation does the same for me.  This would be nice under a light coverage foundation or a BB/CC cream though.

Have you tried this primer?  What are your thoughts?

I hope this was helpful.  Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you have a great week!

*I received this product complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes, but all opinions are my own.*